November 17, 2023 by achrilock

14.53 EST
IDF evidence so far falls well short of al-Shifa hospital being Hamas HQ
Julian Borger
Julian Borger

Before their capture of Dar al-Shifa hospital, the Israel Defense Forces went to great lengths to depict the medical complex as a headquarters for Hamas, from where its attacks on Israel were planned.

The evidence produced so far falls well short of that. IDF videos have shown only modest collections of small arms, mostly assault rifles, recovered from the extensive medical complex. That suggests an armed presence, but not the sort of elaborate nerve centre depicted in animated graphics presented to the media before al-Shifa was seized, portraying a network of well-equipped subterranean chambers.

Even the videos produced so far have raised questions under scrutiny. A BBC analysis found the footage of an IDF spokesperson showing the apparent discovery of a bag containing a gun behind an MRI scanning machine, had been taped hours before the arrival of the journalists to whom he was supposedly showing it.

In a video shown later, the number of guns in the bag had doubled. The IDF claimed its video of what it found at the hospital was unedited, filmed in a single take, but the BBC analysis found it had been edited.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/nov/17/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-gaza-starvation-idf-raid-jenin-refugee-camp-palestine-ceasefire-calls?page=with:block-6557c3c28f0860fe3d216756#block-6557c3c28f0860fe3d216756